For Christmas
by daringtolove
Summary: Set after 2x09. It's Christmas Eve, Hayley and Elijah have to deal with the idea of her getting married to Jackson and that their time together is running out. Can they somehow make it work and have a good Christmas together?


_Here's a Haylijah Christmas one shot that was requested by anon on tumblr! Thank you for the request love and I hope I haven't let you down._

_The request was Hayley + Elijah + Mistletoe!_

_I am still taking requests find out how to make one at the end of this little story._

_Merry Christmas loves, thanks for reading! x_

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It was Christmas Eve but for the Mikealson family it was just any other day, none of them felt like celebrating Christmas with their loved ones scattered around the world or lost from this life. There was still a war amongst the supernatural creatures of New Orleans and those feeble humans who knew nothing about it, and even if they did they kept quiet. There was still on-going betrayal amongst lovers, still endless amounts of torture and slaughter just to demonstrate the superior species. It was no secret to the supernatural beings that the city of New Orleans was getting drenched in the thick red liquid that was their citizen's blood. There was still the threat of Mikeal, their father and the curse of the first born child of each generation that hung over the heads like a plastic bag getting ready to cover their faces and suffocate them until they were completely powerless. Rebekah was still missing and there was no way to tell who's body she was currently residing in and the question to whether they could actually trust their younger brother, Kol, was just adding to Klaus' frustration and paranoia.

None of this was actually bothering Hayley as much as it should be. Her mind was too busy with the ever present thought of the elder Mikealson brother, Elijah. Her head was swimming with concern and worries of what being married to Jackson actually meant. She knew this would be a perfect opportunity for the wolves because they would have the ability, the freedom, to turn whenever they wished and not be forced by the curse of the moon any more. They would no longer have to comply and submit to the witches every demand and desire. This would mean everything to the wolves, Hayley knew that and had accepted it, and she had to do what was best for her people, for her family. She had to be selfless and do the right thing rather than be selfish and not help others, not improve their lives. She knew she had to sacrifice being with someone she loved for eternity if it meant her pack were safe and leading much better lives.

It meant sacrificing Elijah and that's what she had intended to do. It was why she had gone to see him that night in the first place, why she needed to let him know that there was no feelings for Jackson. She had needed him to know the truth just as much as she needed her daughter back in her arms, back home in New Orleans with her. And, he had understood everything just like he always did. He had acted exactly like Elijah did about everything; rational and practical. Well, he had at first. Then, she had seen it in his eyes, his resolve and control had snapped right in front of her and the next thing she had known were his lips crashing against hers in a desperate attempt to cherish the last moments he had with her until she was someone else's. Out of nowhere but yet definitely needed, a stolen kiss became several stolen kisses and then it was a matter of who could remove who's clothes the fastest until finally, they were becoming one with each other.

Her head had wondered to the night, to that memory ever since it had happened and every day she was haunted by it, wanting it to happen all over again. Elijah, however, had completely opposite plans to her own it seemed and whenever she tried to talk to him would say that Hope needed to be changed or fed. Sometimes he would even disappear and just go out. It had reached the point now where she no longer brought it up so she could save herself the embarrassment of her watching him leave the room again. Even now sat outside on Rebekah's old porch and gazing into the emptiness and darkness that consumed her surroundings, her mind was thinking of how his lips had felt against her bare skin and how his fingertips had brushed against her so carefully. She couldn't even stop thinking about him. So how was she supposed to stop herself from loving him?

All of this was just making Christmas seem like any other day. They didn't even have Christmas decorations or even a tree in the house to help lighten the mood. It was pathetic. And, all Hayley had wanted was to somehow make this Christmas a perfect one since she had been given the opportunity to spend it with her daughter. She remembered Christmas as a young girl and how excited she had been to dress the tree and house with all the decorations, dreaming of kissing someone underneath the mistletoe, eating so much that she could hardly move all day and spending it with her family before they had died.

There was a soft creak of the door opening and Hayley turned to face it, her eyes meeting the dark eyes of the man who had ignored her after sleeping with her. She turned around and kept her eyes focused on the stretch of the road and how it disappeared amongst the greenery. If she looked at him for even a second, she would ask him about that night and she couldn't keep asking when it was clear that the subject was not up for discussion.

"Hayley?" His voice was breathless, an inviting whisper to look at him. "Could you come inside for a moment please?"

"So, now you're talking to me?" She remarked, standing up and turning to face him with her arms across her chest with her eyebrows raised.

Elijah let out a sigh and placed a hand on his chest before stepping outside into the night air, closing the door quietly behind him not to awake up Hope.

"I mean, you told me to marry another guy because you want me to have my daughter back home with me but then you kiss me and have sex with me, and then go back to like nothing's changed. Whenever I try to ask you about what it meant or how I feel you ignore me." Hayley's voice started to rise as she could feel herself getting riled up inside, her mind flicking to and repeating every moment over the last few days where he had ignored her or made up another excuse.

"I assure you that was never my intention to make you feel so…hurt." He took a small step towards her, his hands by his sides. "You see, to think about that night and what happened between us makes me very angry, annoyed, melancholic, betrayed and very lost to the idea of never having you back my arms again. I love you, Hayley. You are so incredibly strong and fierce, extremely beautiful. So, the thought of you never truly being mine is actually suffocating. I thought of you as my future and knowing that you can't really be in it, darkens my future in a way I didn't think was imaginable. So, I didn't want to talk about it but I have come to the conclusion, that you're not exactly bound to his man yet and that I should enjoy these moments with whilst I can. I wish to enjoy my present time with you before you become another man's wife. "

Hayley remained frozen to the porch step, trying to process everything that Elijah had just said and what everything actually meant. If she didn't have questions before then she certainly did now. Did this mean he wanted to be with her? Did this mean he had loved her even when she thought he couldn't? Was this going to make going through with the marriage to Jackson that much harder? She had no idea but what she did know was that she agreed with Elijah; she wanted to enjoy as much time with him and Hope before she had to give it all up.

"Is this my Christmas present?" She smiled, jokingly as she finally moved off the step and towards Elijah.

"No." And, he too broke out into a smile. "That's inside."

Curiosity rushing through her…is that where he had disappeared the last few days? Had been shopping for her Christmas present? She grinned at him, like a child who had just been told Santa had brought them everything they had asked for, and made her way towards the door. She eyed him curiously wondering what on earth he had gotten her. She had heard of the expensive gifts that the Mikaelson's had given and they were all pretty damn expensive.

"Please tell me you didn't buy the house." She told him causing him to let out a small pleased chuckle, something that she would hold on to when she was married.

"No, not the house." He smiled, coming to stand in front of her now and looking at her with large brown eyes filled with adoration, love and acceptance for the woman that stood before him. "But you do need to close your eyes."

"Okay, now I'm worried." Hayley gave him a serious look before sighing in defeat and placing her hands over her eyes. What was this present?

She could hear him, the creak of the wood behind her as he moved closer behind her. She could feel his hands hovering above her skin as she waited extremely impatiently for him to place his hands on her hips. Her heart seemed to come to a stuttering halt in her chest and her breath started to quicken, to become just like one of those school girls who had a pathetic crush on an older boy. It was as if hours and hours passed before his one hand came into contact with her hips and the other placed carefully over both of hers so she couldn't sneak a look until he was ready for her to see.

"Move forward." He whispered into her ear sending shivers throughout her body. She could feel his front pressed against her back and all she wanted to do was turn around and make new memories that she could repeat in her head but she knew he had made effort to get her a present so she obeyed.

Hayley carried on walk forward until she felt his hand slip away from her waist to twist the door knob allowing her to take a step forward into their home for the last few days. His hand was still covering hers and the anticipation of what he had given her for her Christmas present was starting to get too much for her, the curiosity burning its way through her body. She heard the door shut behind her and then she could feel Elijah stretch to the left a little bit where she knew there was a switch, a socket, a coat stand and the odd umbrella but that was it. She heard the soft click of the swift as she felt Elijah's hand slipping away from her face.

"Okay, you can open them now." Elijah whispered. Could she detect a sense of nervousness in his tone? But Elijah was nervous. He was always calm and collected. Now, even more so intrigued now than she was before, her hands dropped from her face.

"Oh my god, Elijah." The words seemed to fall from her lips without even thinking, she couldn't get over the image in front of her. "It's beautiful."

The entire living area and stairs from what she could tell was absolutely covered in Christmas decorations. There were two sets of gold and red tinsel twirling its way up the staircase and the arch just above her head. Directly next to the fireplace stood the biggest fir tree that she had ever seen in her life, flecks of what she assumed were fake snow on the edge of the branches. There were flashes of the actual tree amongst red baubles, gold baubles, silver beads that seemed to spiral around the tree in a way that looked too perfect to have been done by anyone's hand. There was also fairy lights that seemed to curl around the tree magnificently as their vibrant lights lit up the entire room. At the bottom of the tree, there were numerous presents and even from the distance Hayley was stood she could read the labels on some of them, they were addressed to her and Hope. She let out a small gasp of laughter, of happiness as she noticed there were stockings hung on the fireplace. He really had gone to extreme measures to help decorate the house.

"I remember you saying how much you loved Christmas as a child and I assumed, because this is Hope's first Christmas and you're here with her, that you would want her to have the same experience, even if she is too young to remember." Elijah took a glance towards the arch and Hayley followed his gaze, breaking out into even bigger smile.

"It's mistletoe."

"And, we're standing underneath it." He grinned at her and took her hands in his, pulling her closer. "And, it's tradition to kiss the person you are with if you're underneath mistletoe. I meant what I said that I don't care, that I will abstain from you when you are married to him but for now, I'm going to cherish every single moment I can have with you, even if it is just for Christmas . I'm in love with you, Hay-"

Hayley cut him off in mid-sentence and brought her lips to his, kissing him softly underneath the mistletoe. He didn't kiss back for a second, in shock most probably, but soon he was kissing her back and his hands were in her hair, trying to get her as close to him as possible. They kissed for a while, nothing more, and just enjoyed the moment of being underneath the mistletoe with each other, acting as if everything was going to be okay tomorrow and the next day. After a while they pulled a part, their hands still clinging to each other and the lips still only inches apart.

"Merry Christmas, Elijah."

"Merry Christmas."

And, Hayley knew in that moment looking at the man she loved that she would never forget this moment for her eternity of living and that if she could, she would stay in this house with her daughter and him forever. It was the best Christmas she could ask for.

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_What did you think? Ah, I was so nervous writing this! I haven't written anything for a while so I feel like I am starting all over again. _

_Thank you so much for taking the time out to read this!_

_If you want to make a request you can private message me on here, follow me on twitter - DaringToLoveFF and me or you can ask me in my ask box on tumblr ( url - daringtoloveff ) _

_Thank you, I love you guys. _

_Merry Christmas X _

_\- Lauren _


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